Organic farming representatives say a decision by the New South Wales government to lift a ban on genetically modified crops will hurt its thriving industry.
NSW agriculture minister Adam Marshall announced Tuesday the state’s 18-year moratorium on GM crops would be lifted on 1 July.
The state’s farming lobby group, NSW Farmers, said it welcomed the move because the technology could be used to improve drought and frost tolerance, but cautioned that organic growers would need to be protected.
The NSW announcement means Tasmania will be the only state with a moratorium on growing GM crops.
Tim Marshall, chairman of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia, which has a business certifying organic produce, said: “We simply don’t think that GM technology is necessary.
“Organic farmers will now have the problem of contamination of their fields by windblown seed and pollen from GM crops that threatens their viability as organic farmers.”
Genetically modified canola, cotton and safflower – grown for its oil – has been grown in NSW since 2008 under an exemption allowed for those three crops.
Minister Adam Marshall said adoption of GM technology could deliver up to $4.8bn in benefits over the next 10 years. GM technology also had the potential to remove allergens from foods, such as gluten, and improve taste and nutrition.
He said the federal government’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator was providing a “robust safety system” to assess all applications to grow GM crops.
GM materials are not allowed in certified organic produce. Tim Marshall told the Guardian: “We are very concerned organic farmers will lose markets and they will have to pay for the wind breaks and lack of cropping boundaries that they need to protect their own crops.
“If [GM technology] is going to be used, there needs to be some protection for organic farmers.”
He said the NSW decision was a further blow to the industry after the South Australian government lifted its GM ban last year.
“We know the organic market is growing very, very fast and the only limitation on the market is supply. This won’t make it easier for organic farmers to produce.”
James Jackson, president of NSW Farmers, said he had only been made aware of the government’s announcement on Monday.
“We do support the lifting of the moratorium, but there are three important caveats,” he said.
The federal government’s regulator needed to be well funded, he said, and added that at the moment NSW Farmers was confident it was doing its job.
He said it was “absolutely critical” that genetic organisms were used in ways that they could be contained. Protecting growers that did not want GM organisms on their business was critical.
“Standing and respecting other people’s ability to run a business predicated on other approaches is really critical,” he said.
“The regulator is needed to monitor buffers to make sure people who choose not to use [GM technologies] are not impacted adversely.”
Farmers in NSW would be looking at GM technologies to improve the drought or frost tolerance of some crops, he said, which could help farmers be more resilient to climate change and climate variability.
South Australia lifted its ban on GM crops on the mainland in May 2020. Some 11 councils applied to the South Australian government to be a GM-free area, but their applications were all turned down. The GM ban for Kangaroo Island was retained.
The NSW move leaves Tasmania as the only state with a moratorium, which is currently in place until 2029.
In 2014, Western Australian organic farmer Steve Marsh lost his long-running and bitter legal action against his neighbour after claiming GM canola had drifted onto his Kojonup sheep, oats and rye farm.
